Car door locking means



Feb. 11, 1936; A. CAMPBELL CAR DOOR LOCKING MEANS 2 Sme ter-Sheet 1Filed June 23, 1933 IINVENTOR. Al? YLE CQMPBELL BY jbw ATTORNEY.

Feb. 11, 1936. A. CAMPBELL CAR DOOR LOCKING MEANS Filed June 23, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. ll, l36

UNITED STATES Zillitt PATENT OFFICE CAR DOOR LOCKING MEANS ApplicationJune 23, 1933, Serial No. 677,230

7 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in car door locking means and moreparticularly to the type of door commonly used in connection with hoppercars.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved doorlatching means of the type shown in my prior United States Patent#1,885,181 of November 1, 1932, wherein a latching bar is pivotallymounted on the door, and to so adapt the parts as to permit ofconvenient operation from a location adjacent one side of the door. l I

Another object of my invention is to provide conveniently locatedfulcrum means on the door '1' and associated latch element, whereby aremovable 'bar maybe inserted between the said fulcrum means and providefor safety and conv venience in operating the latch.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a door latchingmechanism wherein a movable latch is mounted on a door, for cooperatingengagement with a shouldered keeper at an intermediate portion of thedoor, and means adjacent a side edge of the door for retaining the latchin operative position.

Other objects and features of my invention will appear from thefollowing description in connectionwith the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view taken through thelower portion of a car and showing in elevation the hopper door andadjacent related car construction;

Fig. 2 is a fractional View of Fig. 1 with the door removed for thepurpose of better illustrating the shouldered keeper with which the-dooris adapted to have cooperating relation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of that part of the construction illustratedin Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a substantially vertical elevatio'nal view taken through thelower portion of the car structure illustrated in Fig. l as viewed on aline 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on a line 5-5 of Fig.4; and

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional view as taken on a line 6-6 ofFig. 4. I

My invention is illustrated as applied to a hopper car of the so-calledW-type, in which-the hoppers extend below the centersills of the car andare arranged in pairs aligned transversely with respect to the car, witha hopper on each side of the centersill. The drawings illustrate one ofthe related hoppers and the latching door mechanism therefor on one sideof the centersill, but it is understood that the structure on theopposite side of the centersill is a duplicate and that the doors oneach side of the centersill are intended to be individually operatedindependently of the corresponding doors of the hoppers on the oppositeside of the centersill.

I The structure includes a centersill lli including a vertical web I land an outstanding lower marginal flange l2. The hopper is defined byinner and outer substantial vertical walls [3 and M, respectively,cooperating with top and bottom longitudinal sloping walls-l 5 and l 6,respectively. The walls l3, l4, l5 and. I6 have their marginal edgesspaced apart to provide an inclined opening which is disposedsubstantially at right angles to the plane of the bottom wall It of thehopper. The side and bottom walls of the hopper, adjacent their marginaledges, are surrounded by a suitable frame member A in the form of a U orstirrup which is disposed around the outer face of the hopper sheets l3,M and i6 and secured thereto by rivets ll. The reinforcing member orframe A is preferably of a T-shaped section with walls l8 overlying thehopper sheets and having a stem I9 outstanding from said wall l8.

The inner vertical hopper wall it normally has its upper portion 28parallel with and secured to the web ll of the centersill. The wall isprovided with a downwardly extending inclined portion 2! which extendsbeyond the outstanding flange l2 of the centersill a sufficient distanceto provide space for the upper portion of the frame member A.

The upper part of the door frame is completed by a hingebutt member Bwhich is secured at its outer end 22 to the centersill web and is formedwith a portion 23 which underlies and is secured to the upper slopingsheet l5. The hingebutt member has suitable hinge lugs 24 formedintegrally therewith, and the latter provide bearings for the hinge pins25, the latter supporting a discharge door C.

The door C is preferably pan-shaped to enclose one edge of the framemember A and comprises a body portion 26 preferably formed of a platehaving integral side marginal flanges 2l-2l and a bottom flange 28, saidflanges forming a continuous pan-shaped structure extending around thebottom and inner and outer edges of the door respectively. The side edgeof the door adjacent the centersill is termed the inner edge of the doorand the opposite edge of the door is termed the outer edge. The body ofthe door has a pair of hinge straps 30 which are riveted thereto andwhich extend upwardly and cooperate with the hinge pins for supportingthe door for swinging provide an angularly related '4 the door.

movement.

The lower edge portion of the door is rigidifled and reinforced by meansof a brace beam member D which extends for substantially the entirewidth of the door above the swinging edge of the door. This beam D ispreferably formed of a casting having a body portion formed of angularlyrelated flanges 3| and 32, flange 3| being disposed parallell and inoverlying relation with the plate comprising the body 26 of the door,and the flan e 32 extends substantially at right angles to the flange 3|and to the main body portion of the door. The walls or flanges 3| and 32are braced relatively to each other by integral corner ribs 83 and 34disposed at the opposite ends of the beam.

Adjacent the inner end of the door the web 32 of the beam has anupstanding wall or lug 35 which is spaced from the flange 3| to providea space adapted to accommodate therebetween one end of a pivoted latchE. The latch is pivotally mounted with respect to the walls 3| and 35 bymeans of a rivet or pin 36 which extends through both the said walls andthrough the'main body of The latch E extends longitudinally of the beamabove the flange 32 and in the angle between the flanges BI and 32towards the side of the car to a location adjacent the opposite end ofthe beam where its end extends upwardly to portion 31, said disposedsubstantially at right angles to the main portion of the latch andproviding-in effect a bell crank lever. The latch E adjacent theupstanding portion 21 is guided between a pair of upstanding 39, spacedapart sufficiently to permit of free travel of the latch E therebetweenand constituting guiding means to restrict undue sidewise movement ofthe latch.

The latch intermediate its ends engages with the shoulder of a keeper Ffor maintaining the door in closed position. The keeper is preferably inthe form of a casting having a base portion 48 secured to the bottomsloping wail l8 of the hopper and to the wall |8 of the door frame A bymeans of rivets 4|. Upstanding from the base portion 48 is an integraltriangular-shaped portion 42 which is arranged so as to shed ladingportion 31 being from the hopper and prevent the material from Thistriangular pocketing around the keeper. portion has a front facing wall43 which is disposed parallel to the face of the door when the latter isin closed position so that it forms an abutment for the face of thedoor.

outwardly of the face 43 the keeper is provided with a shoulderedportion 44- spaced from the wall 43 for cooperating with the latch Ewhen the door is in closed position, the upper edge of the shoulderedportion 44 is beveled as indicated at 45, and leading to the shoulderedpar? of the keeper there is an inclined runway the latch is adapted totravel as the door is moved towards closed position for the purpose ofdisplacing the latch from its normally operative latching position, itbeing understood that by reason of its weight, said latch membernaturally gravitates to the latching position. The door and beam areprovided with an opening 41 through which the hook portion of the keeperpasses when the door is swung to closed or open position. The wall 43has a face area larger than the opening 41, so that the portion of thedoor surrounding the opening will abut' against this wall and completelyseal the opening against W around and beneath the lower wall sections 38and 48 on which leakage of material when the door is in closed position.

The upper surface of the hook shaped portion of the member F liessubstantially in the plane of the main portion of the outstanding wall32. Said wall is enlarged adjacent the opening to permit the wall toconform to substantially the shape of the opening, said enlarged portionbeing disposed above and below the openings as indicated at 48 andriveted to the door plate by rivets 49. Above the opening 41 on theouter side of wall 3| there is provided a beading 58 around the edge ofthe opening which presents a surface against which the latch element Eis adapted to bear.

Said surface 58 is extended by means of ribs 5| for an appreciabledistance above the opening and said extensions present inclined runwayportions 52 for the purpose of guiding the latch bar E to operatinglatching position.

' The outstanding wall 32 is deflected downwardportion of the opening asindicated at 53 and said deflected portion, below the opening, is bracedrelatively to the enlarged portion 48 of the beam by means of rib I53.

Pivotally mounted between the walls 38 and '38 is a locking dog 54. Thedog is mounted on a rivet 55 which extends through the walls 38 and 39and through the door plate 25. The locking dog 54, when swung to itslocking position as shown in conventional dotted lines in Fig. 1, bearsthe latch E to presents an arcuate face 51 lying at such a distance fromthe pivot that when the dog is swung inwardly to inoperative positionsaid face 51 is beyond the path of her. The locking dog 54 has a lug 58at its upper end adapted to be engaged by a suitable tool for operatingthe dog.

The angular portion of the latching member,-

at its outer end, is provided with a lateral projection 59 extendingsubstantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the latch, anddisposed in the plane of said projection there is a projecting lug 80formed integrally with the wall 39. The lugs. 59 and 60 are spaced fromeach other an appreciable distance and constitute prying lugs betweenwhich a prying lever G may be inserted either for prying the latchelement to closed position or for initiating the opening move.- ment ofsaid latch.

The latch E, being positioned between the walls 38 and 39, ismaintainedthereb'y against lateral displacement as said walls'ser've to guide thelatch in its movement on its pivotal axis. The outer wall 39 isreinforced against bending by a pair of ribs extend ng upwardly from thewall 32 of the beam and said ribs also serve beam adjacent the pryinglugs 88.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the parts to bepositioned as in Fig. 4 with the dog 54 disengaged with respect to thelatch E. The operator inserts the bar G between the prying lugs 59 and88 in the manner indicated by conventional dotted lines in Fig. 4 and bya lifting movement on the end of the car causes the bar to rotate aroundfulcrum 59 theremovement of the latch memto strengthen the (iii aosaasoby lifting the latch element E from engagement with respect to thekeeper, thus permitting the door to swing to open position. The liftingof the outer end of the latch element E a suflicient distance to efiectdisengagement between the latch and keeper also causes the angularportion 31 of the latch to move upwardly to such an extent as to bringthe arm 31 alongside of the pivotal axis 55 of the dog. This arrangementpermits the swinging end of the latch to have considerable movementwhile still maintaining a locking dog of comparatively small dimensions.The releasing of the door in the above manner assures the safety of theoperator because as the door swings to open position the outer end ofthe bar G remains in the operator's hand and the inner end moves free ofthe lugs 59 and 60 due to the fact that the bar is free to moveoutwardly in the direction of movement of the door.

In order to further insure the safety of the operator when releasing thedoor, and guard against the insertion of the prying lever between thelower wall 32 and the lower portion oi the latch E which might result inthe lever fouling or slipping between walls 38 and St of the doors, andthus locldng the bar relatively to the-door, which might result indanger to the operator due to the violent opening movement of the door,the lower end of the latch bar is formed with a depending portion 6|which extends downwardly in an opening 62 formed in the outstanding wall32, thereby closing the opening which would normally exist between thebar and the lower flange.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the same ismerely illustrative and I claim all constructions coming within thescope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a hopper door latching device, in combination with the car bodyand the door; keeper means carried by the car body; movable latchingmeans carried by the door, having a portion adapted to engage with thekeeper; a lateral extension formed on the latching means at anappreciable distance from the keeper; a guide wall overlying the latchadjacent said lateral extension; and a lateral extension on said guidewall disposed substantially in the plane of the extension on thelatching means whereby a removable bar may be inserted between saidrespective extensions for moving the latch by a turning movement of thebar.

2. In a railway car, thecombination with a hopper having an opening, anda door adapted to close said opening; means for retaining said door inclosed position with respect to the opening, said means including akeeper carried by the hopper and formed with a portion adapted to extendbeyond, the outer side of the door; a latch member carried by the doorand movably mounted thereon for cooperating engagement with theprojecting portion of the keeper; a beam adjacent the free edge of thedoor, said beam adjacent one side edge of the door being provided withinner and outer guide walls leetween which the latch is adapted to havemovement, the outer of said walls having a lateral projection comprisinga prying off lug; and a lateral projection on the latch extending beyondthe outer of said guide walls for cooperating engagement with the otherprojection whereby a prying lever may be inserted between saidprojections for moving the latch.

3. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having a dischargeopening, said hopper being defined in part by a sloping bottom wall andside Walls; a discharge door pivotally mounted adjacent the upperportion of the hopper; means for supporting the door intermediate theside walls, including a shouldered keeper carried by the lowerwall, saiddoor having an opening disposed substantially in alignment with thekeeper, said keeper having a shouldered portion extending through theopening in the door; a

latch movably mounted on the outer side of the door for cooperatingengagement with the shouldered portion of the keeper for the purpose ofsupporting the door in closed position, said latch on one side of thekeeper being pivotally mounted on the door and having its opposite endextended outwardly beyond the keeper and there formed with an angularlyrelated extension; guiding means carried by the door for restraining themovement of the latch in a plane substantially parallel with the mainplane of the door, said latch bar extension having a lateral projectionextending outwardly beyond the guiding means; and a lateral projectioncarried by the door dis posed substantially in the plane of the lateralprojection on the latch whereby a removable bar may be inserted between.said projections for prying the latch to either operative or inoperativeposition.

4. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having an opening anda door adapted to close said opening; a beam carried by the door, saidbeam adjacent one side edge of the door being provided with spaced wallsdisposed substantially parallel with the main plane of the door andconstituting inner and outer guide walls; a pivotally mounted latchextending between said guide walls and extended outwardly towards theopposite edge of the door; a keeper carried by the hopper forcooperation with the latch for supporting the door in closed position,said latch being extended lengthwise beyond the guide walls and thereprovided with a lateral extension; and a lateral extension disposed inthe plane of the extension on the latch and formed integrally with theouter of the spaced walls of the beam, said respective extensions on thelatch and beam being adapted to accommodate a prying bar insertedtherebetween for moving the latch.

5. In a railway car, the combination of a hopper having a dischargeopening, a door pivotally mounted adjacent the upper edge of the doorand adapted to close said opening, means for retaining the door inclosed position with respect to the door opening, including a keepercarried by the hopper and a latch member carried by the door and movablymounted thereon i'or cooperating engagement with the keeper, a guidewall adjacent the side edge of the door overlying the latch and adaptedto restrain the latch against outward movement, said guide wall having alateral projectionextending outwardly therefrom and comprising a pryinglug, and a lateral extension on the latch extending beyond the saidguide wall for cooperating engagement with the lateral projectionwhereby a prying lever may be inserted between the projection and latchextension for moving the latch.

6. In a railway car of the type having a hopper including side wallsspaced from each other and a bottom wall extending between said sidewalls, said hopper having a discharge opening, a pivotally mounted dooradapted to be positioned in the discharge opening, means for latchingsaid door in relation to the bottom wall of the hopper, said meansincluding a keeper carried by the bottom wall of the hopper and disposedcentrally of the discharge opening, a latch bar carried by the door andadapted for cooperating engagement with the keeper and movable in aplane substantially parallel with the plane of the door, said latch barextending outwardly from the keeper to a position immediately adjacentthe side edge of the door, guiding walls at the outer end of the latchdisposed adjacent said side edge of the door, locking means for thelatch associated with said guiding means, and lateral pro- Jectionsextending outwardly from the guiding means and latch respectively, andaccessible from a position at the side of the hopper, whereby aremovable bar may be inserted between said respective lateralprojections for moving the latch with respect to the keeper. Y

7. In a railway car, a hopper provided with a discharge opening, anddefined in part by side walls spaced appreciably from each other and abottom wall extending between said side walls, a discharge door hingedadjacent its upper edge adapted to be positioned in the dischargeopenin, a shouldered keeper carried by the bottom wall of the hopper anddisposed intermediate the side walls thereof, a latch member pivotallymounted on the door on one side of the keeper and adapted to co-act withthe keeper for maintaining the door in closed position, said latchmember extending on the opposite side of the keeper to a point adjacentthe side edge of the door, guiding means for the latch disposedimmediately adjacent the said side edge of the door for restricting thelatch to movement in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of thedoor, locking means associated with said guiding means for locking thelatch eral projections on the latch and guiding means adapted toaccommodate a removable actuating bar for moving the latch, said guidingmeans, locking means and lateral projections being all disposed adjacenta side edge of the door whereby operation of the latch may beconveniently and safely effected from a position adjacent said edge 0!the hopper.

ARGYIE CAMPBM in operative position, latw Lana).

